Send plugin crash reports to help Mozilla improve Firefox

This article is no longer maintained, so its content might be out of date.

End of Flash support: Like other browsers and Adobe, Firefox ended Flash support at the end of 2020. Please see End of support for Adobe Flash for more information.

This error means that a plugin (like Adobe Flash) has crashed. Simply reloading the page will restart the plugin, and your video (or other content) will be shown again. Before reloading the page you can add a comment to explain how it happened and send a crash report to Mozilla by clicking on Send crash report. These crash reports help us make improvements to Firefox.

Plugin crash notification Fx21

What is a plugin?

A plugin is a piece of software that displays internet content that Firefox is not designed to display. This usually includes video, audio, online games and presentations that are made in patented formats. Plugins are created and distributed by the companies that make those patented formats. Some common plugins are Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight.

What is a crash?

A crash happens when a piece of software abruptly stops working. Plugins sometimes crash for various reasons, and cause Firefox to crash along with it. For more information about Firefox crashes, see Troubleshoot Firefox crashes (closing or quitting unexpectedly). Some plugins load separately from Firefox, allowing Firefox to stay open if the plugin crashes.

What information is sent in a crash report?

Crash reports only include technical information to help Firefox developers determine what went wrong, and how to fix it. These reports do not include personal information. The information sent in a report includes:

  • what webpage you were on
  • version of Firefox you were using
  • your operating system
  • installed plugins
  • installed extensions
  • and more technical info.

This information is subject to the Firefox Privacy Policy.

How do I keep plugins from crashing?

Many problems with plugins can be solved by updating to the latest version of the plugin. The name of the plugin that crashed can be found in the error message.

Plugin name crash notification Fx21

Where can I get more info about Adobe Flash crashes?

See Adobe Flash plugin has crashed - Prevent it from happening again.

Developing for Flash with Flex?

Breakpoints can trigger Firefox's hang protection. You can disable hang protection by setting the dom.ipc.plugins.timeoutSecs preference to -1. See the Mozilla Developer Network documentation for details.

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